Comfort
by Weezer Girl
Summary: It's been several years since they died... Jon and Alanna find comfort in each other. Oneshot. Jon/Alanna friendship. Warning: Character deaths.


Well, it's been awhile since I wrote anything like this. Or anything, really. It's been a busy couple of years, I guess. I don't think my voice in this came off quite as I had intended it to, but I think it got the point across. I've always loved Alanna and Jon's relationship (as friends), and this little fic sprung from that love.

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize.

It's been several years since they both passed. The illness swept through Tortall, taking thousands of people.

George had been one of the first to go. Alanna had been away when he fell ill. She had nearly killed her horse trying to get home; she knew how fast the illness took people. She had made it the day before he went, and had poured all of her Gift into him, had begun to pour her life force into him.

"Stop, lass. It's my time to go. I've had a wonderful life with you, my Lionness. I couldn't have asked for anything more. Tell Aly and Alan and Thom that they've made me so proud. And be strong, lass. I know I don't have to tell you that, but I want you to go on without me. Give the grandkid's a kiss from Grandda, an keep saving the world, my love."

Alanna had been broken. Daine had come to look after her, leaving Numair at home with the children, but Alanna couldn't stay put for long, especially not in the Swoop. Thom and Alan had come back to stay with their mother, but she had sent them back to their own lives- Thom to his studies and Alan to his knight duties. She went to the desert because they would give her work, not looks of pity and soft words.

Months passed and the rate of death slowed. A sense of security and the spirit of recovery gripped all of Tortall. Then Thayet died, rocking the country and the king to the very core.

Jon had hit the bottle hard. Raoul saw his friend's pain- he of all people understood that alcohol could mask pain. He was at Jon's side constantly for a year, even moving Buri and their young daughter from Goldenlake. Roald had taken over much of the king's duty.

But it's been several years since then. Alanna has been able to return to Pirate's Swoop, has talked about her late husband without bursting into tears, and has found a kind of peace. Jon has gotten back to ruling the country, has relearned how to live without his better half, and has been sober for a year.

It was in this time and these circumstances that Alanna came to Corus for the first time since Thayet's funeral.

Alanna knocked on Jon's door, suddenly feeling anxious. She had heard that Jon had not been in a good place after Thayet's death. What if he was still overtaken by grief? What if her friend's sorrow tore away the scar tissue that had begun to form over her own sadness?

Jon opened the door. Shock registered on his face, and he all but fell onto her. They embraced and cried, and Alanna was reminded of a day, so many years ago, when Jon was crying with her over his parents' deaths. So much had changed since then, a whole lifetime had passed.

"I'm so sorry, Jon," Alanna started, but Jon cut her off.

"Hush, Alanna. I know."

They stood there like that for a long while, gaining comfort in each other as they had so many times over the courses of their lives- a king and his sword arm, a vassal and her master, two friends.

Alanna knew that friendship with Jon would speed the recovery of her still hurting heart. Theirs had always been a close bond; their fates and their lives had been intertwined for so long that they had become necessities to each other. Their presences alone held a comforting power beyond that of isolation or alcohol.

Alanna by no means stayed at Corus from then on. Even while aging, she was unable to stop her traveling, though she did slow down a bit. Even with her travels, she returned to Corus often. She and Jon would sit for hours in his study, talking and being silent, remembering and planning, laughing and crying. They restored each other.

AN: Please review! I feel kind of rusty, so I'd love feedback.


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